Shingle cutter



March 10, 1925- R. BUCKINGHAM SHINGLE CUTTER 2 Sheets-'Sheet 2 March lo' 1925 R. BUCKINGHAM SHINGLE CUTTER im QE Filed May l2, 1922 Patented Mar. 10, 1925.

ROBERT BUCKINGHAM, 0F HUNTINGTON, INDIANA.

sHI'NGLE CUTTER.

Application lcd Hay 12, 1922. Serial No. 560,436.

To all whom t may concern:

B e it known that I, ROBERT BUCKINGHAM, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at .Huntington in the county of Huntington and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shingle Cutters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention. such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to sheet cutting devices, and aims to provide a novel and improved machine adapted especially for cutting asphalt and other composition shingles so as to fit the valleys, hips, ridges and gables of building roofs.

It is the object of the invention to provide a cuttingl device comprising a novel con-l struction and arrangement of parts whereby the shingles can be conveniently and quickly cut, .as well as doingl the work neatlv and cutting the shingles at the desired angle.

Another object is thy provision of such a device having a base or body member along which the cutter blade or knife is movable, and movided with novel means for mounting the base or body member on the sheathing of the roof or other boards, and also enabling the device to be held in position by one foot of the operator, whereby the device is conveniently manipulated under different conditions.

A further object is the provision of `n. t `e armof novel construction along which cutter blade or knife is movable hingedly connected to one end of the base or body member in a novel manner for the swinging movement of the arm away from and against the base for the convenient positioning of the shingles, holding thereof during the cuttingl and removal thereof after being cut, and novel means for positioning the arm when swung against the base.

A still further object is the provision of a novel slide movable along the arm and carrying the cutter blade or knife, which is semi-automaticin operating inasmuch as the slide is restored to initial or starting position when the arm is swung away from the base for the removal of the cut shingle and the insertion of the next shingle to be cut.

Another object is the provision of a novel device for swinging the arm and latching the same to the base.

Another object is the provision of such a device having a mitre'sq'uare gage for positioning the shingles to cut them at the desired angle.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be understood as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes can he made Within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device as positioned on the sheathing of a roof, showing the arm latched t0 the base and the slide moved to the position for completingv the cut.

Fig. 2 is an opposite side elevation showing the arm raised and the slide returned to initial or starting position. Y

. Fig. 3 is a plan vlew with the parts as seen in Fig.- 1. x

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the slide and hinged end of the arm taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 2 with the arm in position against the base.

Fig. 5 lis a cross section onthe line 5 5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a cross section on the line 6--6 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a detail view showing the' hinged connection between the arm and base, and` the stirrup for holding the device down when used in upright position. 1 l

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one end of the base.

The base or body member is elongated and of suitable size, and comprises a bar 11 of wood or other suitable material of rectangular cross-sectlon, with a metal angle member 12 secured over one corner of said bar, and having one flange 13 depending and overlapping one side of the bar, and the other .flange 14 disposed on the top of the bar.

In order'to conveniently fasten the base on the sheathing of a roof or other similar support, a surface of the base atene end, and is bent to'. form a hook 16 which can be engagedl across and around theedge of a board, as.

lso

' opposite to the plate 15, with its ends projecting from the base and having apertures 18 for fastening said plate down by means of nails, screws, or the like. The device can thus be conveniently fastened down on Lthe end portion of the base where the hook plate 15 is located, and one end of the a'ngle member 12 forms the hinge portion of the base. Thus, one end of the flange 13 projects beyond the corresponding end of the bar 11,

to provide the projecting portion 20, andthe corresponding end of the flange 14 also projects beyond the end of the bar and is bent downwardly and backwardly into a hinge buttportion 21, which is spaced from the portion 20. A hinge pin or rivet 22 extends through the portions 20 and 2l, and a spindle or shank 23 has an eye 24 'at its lower end embracing the hinge pin 22 between the portions 2O and 21, and one end of the arm 19 is connected to said spindle whereby the arm is capableof turning with the spindle around the hinge pin 22.

The arm 19 is composed of the vertically spaced bars 25. which are secured at one end between the flanges of an end member 26 of the arm, which is of U-shaped section, as seen in Fig. 4. The bend of said end member surrounds the spindle 23, and a filler block 27 is secured between the flanges of said memben, to ,fit the spindle 23 opposite to theA bend of said member, wherebyv the arm is fitted snu ly on said spindle with a sliding fit, so that t e arm can b e `adjusted on the spindle to different distances relatively to the base. An adjusting nut 28 is threaded on the upper terminal of the spin-- dle for limiting the upward movement of the arm on the spindle and obtaining. the

'desired adjustment between the arm -and base. The opposite ends of the bars 25 are secured between a pair of spaced end memberspor plates 29, which are located at the free end of the arm, and said plates have the respective tongues or extensions 30 and 31 projecting beyond the lower bar 25 to fit `the base.' The corresponding end of the base is provided 'with a longitudinal vertical slot 32 extending from such end. toisnugly receive the tongue 31 between the sides of the basefwhile `the tongue 30 is adapted to snugly overlap the flange 13 of the angle member 12 as seen in Fig. 6. This will guide the free end of the arm into proper position on. the base, and retain the v arm against lateral displacement on this` base. The flange 14 is split longitudinally above the slot 32 toaccommodatethe tongue 31,

and that portion opposite to the flange 13 is bent upwardly to provide an upstanding stop 33 located at one side of the arm 19, to assist in positioning the arm in the base, as well as constituting a stop to limit the movement of the slide as hereinafter pointed out.

In order to swing the arm to` and from the base, and to latch the arm to the base, a handle 34'is pivoted between ears 35 projectingfrom the plates 29 at the free end of the arm, and said arm has a hook-shaped latch 36 proj ecting therefrom to engage the end of the base. The end of the bar 1l has a recess 37 under the flange 14 between the slot -32 and flange 13 for receiving the bill of the hook, and said bill of the'hook has a v cam surface -38 to engage the end of the flange 14. The handle 34 can be conveniently grasped for swinging the arm, and when the arm is swung adjacent to the base, with the latch 36 in open position, the handle 34 canbe swung downwardly, to insert the bill of the hook into the recess 37, thereby moving the cam surface 38 under the flange 14, whereby the free end of the arm is drawn down tightly to clamp the shingle between the arm and base. The' cam surface 3S also enables the arm to be clamped down when spaced to different distances from the base, such as when the nut 28 is adjusted for shingles of different thicknesses.

The slide 39 which is movable along the arm 19 comprises a bar`4() movable between the bars 25, and op osite side plates 41 and 42'secured to said Ear and overlapping the bars The arm thus has a slot or slideway in which theslide is movable longitudinally of the arm, and the plate 42`has an upstanding handle 43 for conveniently moving the slide. Said plate 42, which may be thicker than the opposite plate 41, has an oflset 44 providing a socket for the cutter blade or knife 45. which is adjustable vertically in said socket or offset, and which has the oblique or inclined cutting edge 46 at its lower end. A set screw 47 is carried by the offset or socket portion 44 to clamp the cutter blade in its dilerent adjustments.

In order to frictionally retain the slide in initial or starting position, a leaf spring 48 is secured to one side of the slide to overlap and frictionally engage'the end member 26 of the arm. as seen in Fig. 4. thereby holding the slide in such position u'ntil the slide is manually moved away from such end of the arm.

The device can also be used in an upright position with,4 the hinged'end down, and,

or this purpose, a stirrup 49 has its ends engaging the hinge pin or rivet 22, for receiving one foot of the operator, to hold the device down while the slide is pulled upwardly. In this way, the device can be held i matically when the arm 19 is swung to open.v y

name this ,specificatlom the lhandle and' the. other Vhand grasping the handle 43 to control the arm 19 and slide conveniently. i

member 50 having one end overlapping an -ear 51 projecting from that side of the base opposite to the fiange 13, landvsaid member is pivoted on said ear by means of a pivot bolt 52 havin a wing nut 53 under the ear 51 to clamp t e member 50 in difl'erent angular positions. The ear 51 constitutes a piece of metal secured between the bar'11 and flange 14, as seen in Fig. 5, and the lower flange of the member 50 is ush with orin the same plane as the ilange 14, whereby .the shingle is supported on said flanges under 'the'A arm' 19. v

In using the device,-the gage member 50 is positioned at the proper angle and clamped in place, and the shingle is placed on and against said gage member and base, and when properlyvpositioned, the arm 19 is swung down to clamp the shingle against the base, by moving the latch 36 into engagement with the base and holding theha-ndle 34 down. The slideis then drawn toward the operator, whereb the vcutter blade or knife 45 will cut the s ingle along the flange 13 which said cutter blade overlapsas seen in Fig. 5. Then, by swinging the handle 34 to release 4the latch from the base, the arm is raised to remove the cut shingle and insert' the next shingle, and the raising of' the arm 19 will cause the slide 39 tol slide back-to initial position, as seen in- Fig. 21thereby' restoring the slide to starting'positionautoposition: The friction spring 48 of the slide overlaps andl frictiorrally engages the end said bill having'a cam sur base for clamping the .arm against the base v member 26 of the arm, to retain the slide in starting position' until the slide isl again v "moved for cuttin :the shingle. The mitre .square gage includes an angle The device can e convemently used, when shingling, for cutting the shingles oft` at the desired angle. to fitvthe valleys, hips, ridges and gables ofthe roof. The-cut edges ofthe shingles are also even' and neat, and the work can be done quickly and without the usual annoyance 'and 'time involved as compared.

with" the use of ordinary tinners shearsV and the like -asnow done.

Having thus described the invention, whiat is claimed as new isz- A cutting device comprising abase, a spindle pivoted to the base near one end thereof to swngtoward and away from the other end of the base, an arm having .means -at one end embracing' said'spindle so that the arm can swing with the spindle toward and away from the base, a cutter slide movable along said arm, a handle pivotally connected with the other end o the arm to swing towardand away from the base and having 4a hook-shaped latch, the base having means for receiving the bill of the latch when saidy handle is swungatoward'the base, I ce to engage the with the arm spaced different distances from the base,and'portions carried by the arm and base at the last named ends thereof to fit together when the arm is moved adjacent -to the'base and to prevent the transverse displacement of the Varm relatively to the base.

v v' ROBERT BUCKINGHAM. 

